A new theory out of Brown University challenges common ideas about clay on Mars, which is ubiquitous on the Red Planet. Rather than forming through muddy interactions with lakes and rivers, like clay ...

New research published in Nature Astronomy seeks to understand how surface clay was formed on Mars despite its cold climate. The climate on early Mars has presented an enigma for planetary scientists ...

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Clay minerals cannot form unless there is water available—it is an essential ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Planetary scientists from Brown University have proposed a new scenario for the formation of ancient clay minerals on Mars that, if shown to be true, could ...

The search for life on Mars took a surprising downward turn yesterday. If life existed, it likely existed underground, reported Professor of Geological Sciences John Mustard in a study published in ...

The planet Mars is home to thick layers of clay that can span hundreds of feet. Since they need water to form, these outcrops have long been of interest to scientists looking for signs of past life on ...

David Rothery is author of Planet Mercury - from Pale Pink Dot to Dynamic World (Springer, 2015), Moons: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2015) and Planets: A Very Short ...